article

The Zande royal court

Zaire [microform] • 11 • Published In 1957 • Pages: 361-389, 493-511, 687-713

By: Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (Edward Evan).

Abstract

In this article, Evans-Pritchard describes and analyzes the organization of the Azande royal courts at both the kingdom and provincial levels. the data pertain particularly to King Gbudwes kingdom in the last half of the 19th century and the opening years of the 20th century prior to the establishment of British colonial rule, and the data sources were mainly elderly informants and travelers accounts, supplemented by his own observations of some remaining elements of traditional court life at the courts of Gbudwes sons. Evans-Pritchard observes that the relations between the king and his immediate retinue are analogous to those between ruler and subject at each level of Azande government; hence, the structure and functions of the royal court become an index or model of the nature of political relations in the whole state. A key function and support of the territorial-administrative hierarchy is the system of economic reciprocity, whereby tribute, taxes, fines, and the products of organized labor groups such as the military companies are channeled upward to the princes and the king, and a redistribution is then made downward to the subjects of the rulers mainly in the form of prepared food and spears to be used as bride-wealth as well as weapons in warfare.

HRAF PubDate

1999

Region

Africa

Sub Region

Central Africa

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Social Anthropologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Gilbert Winer ; Robert O. Lagacé ; 1968-1969

Field Date

1927-1930

Coverage Date

ca. 1865-ca.1905

Coverage Place

Sudan

Notes

E. E. Evans-Pritchard

HRAF pagination: 1-75 p.

LCCN

sn94094569

LCSH

Zande (African people)